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CFP Committee chair Rob Mullens, Kirk Herbstreit breakdown Ohio State’s jump to No. 1
By Paul Harvey
Published:
The Buckeyes are back in the pole position for the College Football Playoff!
Over the weekend, Ohio State came away with a crucial win over Penn State. After racing out to a big lead, the Buckeyes held off a furious rally with their strong defense and a clutch score by the offense to hang onto a win.
During Tuesday’s CFP Rankings show, Joey Galloway admitted this was the first game all season that Ohio State appeared sloppy. That made the jump in the poll a bit surprising:
“For the first time this season, we saw Ohio State looks sloppy for a stretch of a football game,” said Galloway.
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Kirk Herbstreit went on to say that the rankings, including the jump by the Buckeyes, reflected the respect the Committee has for a team like Penn State. After the loss, the Nittany Lions dropped to No. 10:
“I think, as far as the committee’s eyes — I think it has much to do with the respect they’ve had all along for Penn State as why this week, instead of next week or last week,” said Herbstreit. “I think it has to do with they look at Penn State as a good football team and the fact they fought Ohio State — while some thought Ohio State didn’t look as dominant as it was supposed to, I think the committee looked at that and said ‘That’s a pretty good football team they beat.'”
When it came time to discuss the ranking of the Buckeyes, CFP Committee chair Rob Mullens highlighted Ohio State’s record against ranked teams:
“Ohio State has been a complete team and that win over Penn State was their third over a team ranked in the Top 19,” explained Mullens. “It’s probably that complete team piece that [put them at No. 1].”
However, with regular-season finales this week and Championship Weekend still to come, the race for the No. 1 overall seed is far from wrapped up:
“I don’t think the jostling for this No.1 spot is done yet,” said Jesse Palmer.
For now, Ohio State will enjoy the top spot. But the Buckeyes must still face No. 13 Michigan in Ann Arbor and either No. 8 Minnesota or No. 12 Wisconsin in Indianapolis.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.